


Children of the Sun

by Not_PretendThisIsWitty



Category: Original Work
Genre: Original work - Freeform, Other, Tree of Life, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 00:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9467312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_PretendThisIsWitty/pseuds/Not_PretendThisIsWitty
Summary: Once upon a time, a god fell in love with a human. Their union produced two children- a golden one destined to damn the world with monsters forged from perverted divinity, and a dark one fated to kill their beloved kin to save humanity. Now, thousands of years later the survivor struggles to find harmony between the humans and the creatures of blood his sister created. A faction has arisen to challenge his rule- one who believes humanity's salvation lies not in him, but in his long dead sibling, the mother of the damned- and they've found a way to bring her back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

1, 714 B.C.E.  
Northern Europe

 

Even asleep she knew something was wrong. Nera pushed aside the thick covers and sat up slowly, pushing through the deep ache in her lower half. She held her stomach and breathed deeply. Hours had passed since she’d given birth, and she knew she should not be walking so soon. With her first she had been bedridden for a week, but the second birth was… harder.

She was slow and awkward in her movements, but Nera managed to pull aside the thick fur that cut her sleeping alcove off from the rest of the hut and shamble out to her family. Her husband was sitting on the floor at the far end of the circular room, wearing the same too-long trousers and ragged vest he always did. The first things he tried making with mortal hands, and he was ridiculously proud of them. Nera crept towards her husband, stepping cautiously around the sleeping three year old on his own little pile of fur and blankets.

Ea was cradling the source of her discomfort, their new baby girl, in his arms. He sat with his side to the low-burning fire, intensely memorizing every detail of her little face and holding her hand between two fingers. Pain, pride, and joy mixed on his tanned face. Nera put a hand on his shoulder and Ea turned his golden eyes to hers. A tear slipped down. It was a heartbreaking thing to witness so much pain on so beautiful a face. A band tightened around her heart and tears filled her eyes, “It’s time, isn’t it?”

“My last worshippers are gone. Apollo is rising to the position of Sun God… My priests now turn to Ninhursag. My power is almost gone.” His voice shook and fresh tears fell down his cheeks to land on the baby’s, “It’s too soon.” He looked back to his daughter, then over to his sleeping son.

“How much longer do you have?” Nera both needed the answer and wished desperately that she could shut her ears to it. She slowly lowered herself to her knees and rested her forehead against her husband’s.

“I’ve already stayed longer than I should have been able to- my kin have lent me what strength they may. I will have to return to the heavens soon.” He began to weep softly and Nera did the same.

“Weeks? Days?” Her voice cracked, she knew either was too much to hope for.

Ea took a deep breath to calm himself. It had the opposite effect and he began to shake, “Minutes.”

Nera lifted their daughter from Ea’s arms and set her in her cradle. She pulled her husband of five years closer and rocked him gently as she would their son if he were crying. Ea straightened up and looked into his wife’s eyes, “I am so sorry. I never thought my power would fade so quickly.”

“It isn’t your fault,” she whispered as her heart broke, “you told me this would happen when we were wed.”

“I have felt her spirit reaching to me for months,” Ea turned and stared sadly at the baby, “ever since she began to move within your womb, her power has reached my ears.”

“What do you mean?” Even after all their time together, Ea still confused her.

He didn’t look away from the child as he spoke, and a smile spread across his face, “She may speak to spirits, or at least she will be when she is old enough to speak. I doubt this little one knew it, but she has been murmuring in her own little language to me day and night. I knew when she was happy, when she was growing-“

“Is that why you kept bringing all that venison back from your hunts?” Nera forced a laugh.

“She liked it.” His smile faded away, “But where I am going, even she will not be able to reach me.”

“Before you go, can I ask you to do one last thing?” She covered her mouth and forced herself to look at Ea, even though it hurt almost more than she could bear.

“Anything.” Ea pulled Nera closer and kissed away her tears.

“I know I was to name our second child, but I want you to. A name will be your gift to her.”

Ea smiled softly. He had spent months searching for the perfect name for their son, but his daughter had made hers known in her coos. It was a name he had called her in secret when he spoke back along her veins of power, “Aurora.” He whispered. The baby stirred and latched onto her father’s voice. Both parents sat up taller to look down on her.

She would have long golden hair- like Ea- and her mother’s onyx-black eyes. Her brother Josian was the opposite with black hair and brilliantly golden eyes. Ea’s chest tightened further at the thought of all he would miss- and all he would lose. His heart beat once, then stopped. He knew his time was at an end.

Desperately, he turned to Nera and pulled her head to his. They embraced one last time and in that last kiss they poured all of their love and passion. Nera tried to cling to Ea as his skin turned paper-thin and his body began to fade away. She opened her eyes and watched hopelessly as the last traces of his presence vanished from their home. Even the light from the fire seemed darker.

Her arms fell to the floor and Nera curled around her baby’s bed as she cried.

 

* * *

 

“So, I take it the _God_ is finally gone?” Seren, the village chief, sneered as Nera walked slowly out of her hut. She ignored him and stared up at the clear sky, holding her newborn baby in her arms. Ea’s star flickered once, and then faded just as her lover had. No comfort was left to the poor woman.

Seren merely smirked and entered his own hut.

“What’s she called?” A small voice from behind pulled Nera from her despair just far enough to allow a small, forced smile.

“Her name is Aurora,” she said, turning to see the child no older than Josian, “Kor, shouldn’t you be asleep?”

The boy came closer to see Nera’s tears. He heard the pain in her voice and pulled a strip of wool from his vest pocket and offered it to her to dry her tears. She accepted, and once she returned it he slid the wool back to his pocket and answered her question, “I had a bad dream. Father said I couldn’t go back inside ‘till I wasn’t scared no more.”

Nera sighed, Kor’s father was Seren, and he had been harsh with the boy from the moment he was born. Despite her lifelong hatred of the man, Kor was one she actually liked. Where Seren was cruel and ambitious, Kor was kind and patient. It was true that the boy took after his father with his white-blond hair and pale eyes, but his entire demeanor was the polar opposite. It made her pity him, and it made Ea treat him as another son.

“What did you dream about? Telling might make it less frightening.” Nera’s heart clenched in her chest, she needed a distraction. She walked Kor to the dying bonfire at the center of the village and sat stiffly with him beside her.

He frowned as he tried to remember, “It was really dark, I couldn’t see nothing! And then a pretty lady was standing in front of me. She was going to die, and I knew it, but I couldn't stop it! I was so scared, and she was hurting bad, but I couldn't-“ Kor started to cry and Nera put an arm around him, still holding Aurora tight.

“Kor, listen to me, everything will be alright. It was only a dream.”

“What if it wasn’t?” Kor started to cry harder.

Nera took his hand and held it tight, “Kor, make me a promise: keep your eyes open wide. If you ever see the girl from your dream, come find me immediately. I will save her, even if you cannot.”

“Really?” he hiccuped.

Nera smiled and wiped the tears from his face, “Really.”

“Thank you!” Kor jumped up and ran to the door of his hut, “Father! I’m not scared anymore!” the woven sticks slid back far enough to admit the boy. Before he entered, he turned and waved goodnight to Nera and her baby. Seren's hand shot out and he grabbed a handful of his son's hair to jerk him into the hut. The Chieftain slammed the door closed once more, leaving Nera and her infant alone in the dark village center.

She looked down at the baby sleeping so sweetly in her arms and lifted her so that Aurora’s face rested against her neck, “How will I tell your brother that his father is gone? How can I be your mother when half of me is missing?”

There was no answer- not in the slumbering child’s soft breathing, not in the stars that shone down on the village, not in her heart, and certainly not in the low flames that crawled along the logs. For her love and for her children, Nera would do whatever it took to keep them safe and sound.

No matter the cost.

 

* * *

 

“Where is that little bitch, I’LL KILL HER!” Seren screamed, storming through the village in the middle of a heavy snowstorm.

“Father, there is no need for that- it wasn’t Aurora’s fault!” Kor ran after his father, smiling despite the cuff to his head he was sure to get later. Seren had come out of his hut to be hit squarely in the face by a snowball meant for his son. Josian and Aurora had vanished into the storm. Their laughter echoed off of the hidden huts- taunting the Chief from all angles.

“I SHOULD HAVE KILLED THAT WHOLE FAMILY THE SECOND THAT DEMON WAS GONE!” He continued on his rampage around the village, chasing the half-filled footprints they left in their wake.

“He was a _god_.” Kor said softly. He barely remembered Josian and Aurora’s father, but what he could recall was a kind and joyful man. Despite his father’s best efforts to rewrite the truth- and the threats of violence against Kor himself for disobedience- Seren’s son was the lone child in the village who played with the half-divine siblings.

“What did you say, boy?” Seren growled.

“Nothing, father.”

Seren cursed as he reached the last house in the small village. Here the tracks vanished, completely obliterated by the whiteout. He turned sharply and began to retrace his own steps as quickly as possible back towards where his and Nera’s huts sat side to side. Without ceremony or even a show of basic courtesy, he threw open the door and barged inside.

The hut had grown as the children grew- though the outside remained the same. Some vestige of Ea’s faded might lingered in the walls themselves. The main room still held the same large fireplace, but now there were three outcroppings- not just one- where wool blankets marked the beds.

Kor smiled around Seren’s back as he saw Nera sharpening a skinning knife. Josian sat closest to the fire, gently rubbing the head of a pale and shaking Aurora, “NERA, ARE YOU AWARE YOUR HALF-BREED WHELPS JUST ASSAULTED ME?!”

Nera didn’t look up from her work, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Aurora woke up with a terrible fever this morning. Josian has been taking care of her for the last three hours at least.”

“You can feel your head if you’d like- she’s burning up!” Aurora moaned for effect. Only Kor saw the hot stone in Josian’s palm.

Seren glared at the two and turned sharply to leave the hut. Kor stepped aside, making it clear he had no such intentions. His father cast him a dirty look- a silent promise of retribution- and stomped out into the storm. Kor walked over to Josian and Aurora by the fire and put his bare hand on her forehead.

“You know, if it were actually that hot your brain would be boiling in your skull.” All three broke out in gleeful peals of laughter. Josian pulled Aurora up and she sat cross-legged between the two boys. He tossed the stone back into the fire.

“Ok you little wolves, what did you do to Seren?” Nera smiled to soften the stern tone of her words. She’d already told them that she was fine with any prank they pulled against that bastard Chief, so long as they didn’t get caught and left no evidence behind.

“Aurora hit him square between the eyes with a snowball!” Josian laughed and wrapped an arm proudly across her narrow shoulders.

“I was aiming for Kor! It’s not my fault the Chieftain came out first!” Aurora pretended to pout and Nera laughed.

“You children are evil. I’m so proud.”

“Speaking of evil- happy birthday you half-breed demon!” Kor reached into a pouch on his waist and pulled out a smooth black stone fixed to a long leather cord. He scooted closer to Aurora and lowered the band around her neck. She picked up the stone and stared at it for a long time, admiring the tan streak that appeared in the brown of the stone wherever light hit it.

“It’s beautiful!” she smiled broadly, “Thank you Kor!” she nearly tackled the fifteen year old.

Kor smiled proudly at the now twelve-year old, “I found it on a hunting trip last year; my mother helped me make the hole for the cord. She said it would bring good luck.” Kor leaned back against the warm stones nearest the fire.

The crunch of snow outside the hut announced Seren’s return and Aurora immediately went limp and fell back against Josian. He laughed at her and quickly made his face a mask of concern as the door opened and Seren shouted, “KOR, GET OUT OF THAT DEVIL’S NEST RIGHT NOW!”

He rolled his eyes and stood. Aurora winked at him as Josian set her back on the floor so he could follow his friend. Seren was already back in the hut by the time Josian was outside. He grabbed Kor’s hand and turned the boy, closing the entrance to his own home with a swipe of the foot.

“How long have you looked at my sister like that?”

“Like what?”

“You know what.” Josian’s voice was low, “I know she’s nearing the age of marriage, and it is my job to find a match for her-“

Kor held his hands up, immediately on the defensive, “Josian, I promise, you have nothing to fear from me-“

“So you _do_ love her?”

“Stop that-“

“Oh?” he leaned over and quick as lightning snatched something from Josian’s pocket- a carefully carved wooden band, “When were you- _seriously_?!”

“Stop reading my mind!” Kor hissed and snatched the gray stone band back.

Josian stepped closer, just in case Seren was listening at the door, “You weren’t going to ask her to be your bride because you’re afraid _I_ would be angry?!”

“This is why I hate being friends with a mind reader.” Kor ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not afraid, I just know you would never give her to me. Not with my father.”

Josian shook his head, “I would never _give_ that little hellion to anyone. It’s her decision. Just like it’s _your_ decision to be a complete idiot.”

“What?” Kor was genuinely puzzled.

“Ask her, you bastard!” he laughed at last and clapped his friend on the shoulder, “But maybe wait until spring- your father is probably going to chase the lot of us out of the village for it and we wouldn’t survive very long in all of this ice.”

Kor shook his head in wonder, “You are genuinely alright with this?”

“She’s marrying age, and you've been in love with her since we were children- so why not?” Josian smiled and stepped back towards his hut, “Just warn my mother first, Aurora is her precious little baby and she _will_ gut you if you spring this on her.” With a wink he was back inside.

Seren listened at the window not five feet away. Most of the conversation was too quiet to hear, but he’d caught the most important parts. The Chief’s face broke into a snarl so fierce his battered wife actually dared glance to a metal poker near the fireplace, “Don’t worry,” his snarl faded into a grin just as terrifying, “I won’t let our boy make any more mistakes.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Kor woke on the morning of his intended engagement, it was to loud roaring and a scream. He didn’t even bother to pull on his skins; he simply launched himself around the fire, up the stairs, out of the hut, and into the mob.

Nera was tied to a tall wooden pole in the village commons. She was still alive, but bleeding from more wounds than Kor could count. Blood covered most of her face and he cried out in horror as a long knife appeared and cut deeply into the woman’s once-perfect skin. She struggled against the ropes that held her to the pole and more blood dripped down the rough cords holding her arms and legs.

At the sight of that dripping blood the mob roared and cheered. Some turned away in disgust, but the vast majority shouted for more. Nera wasn’t moving now, she was simply staring somewhere near her feet, as though everything in the world depended on it. Kor’s stomach clenched. He turned and vomited as the thought hit him-

Where were Josian and Aurora?

Kor forced his way into the mob. Arms and legs kicked him back as he struggled on- no one wanted to lose their view. More screams from the front drove him to lash out at any who blocked his way as he pushed through with the fervor of a madman. The thought of seeing Aurora injured or dead only fueled the desperate flight until, at last, he broke through the forest of blanket-wrapped villagers and reached the front of the mob.

“No!” Kor’s scream was lost in the approving roar of the crowd. His father was standing at the base of Nera’s post, dagger in hand. He climbed up onto a log and smiled as his eyes met his son’s. He lifted the blade and slowly slid it into the side of Nera’s neck. Her attention snapped up from her children and she gasped and choked against the metal. His father looked back to Nera and pulled the blade out halfway, admiring the fount of blood that began to pour from her mouth. With a final, savage jerk of his wrist he brought the knife out- severing half of her neck in the process.

Two screams drowned out all the rest as a wave of pure energy shot out from Nera’s body- the final pulse of Ea’s divinity as it was severed from the earth at last. The crowd was knocked back, and even Seren fell hard from the log. Kor was the first on his feet, and in his despair he found a flicker of hope- the screams came from Josian and Aurora.

They were pinned on their knees, held between two men each with their hands and legs bound. Josian’s face was blood red as he screamed wordlessly at Seren. One of the men holding him tried to cuff his ear and break off the cry. He succeeded, but Josian turned those golden eyes on him and within seconds the villager was screaming and clawing at his own eyes. Another villager took his place immediately- this one smart enough to avoid looking at the boy directly.

Somehow, Aurora scared him more. The rage in her black eyes was something from hell itself, and the men on either side of her did not scream or rage against the girl- their eyes were fixed ahead on some apparition only they could see- and whatever it was, one man had already wet himself.

“STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” Kor screamed as his father got to his feet.

“Did you want mercy for the demon’s whore?!” The mob, still picking itself up from the snow, roared in approval at Seren’s words. “That wretch blasphemed our gods by claiming to be one of them! He sired two half-breed whelps to carry on with the damnation of our village! We have sent a warning with her death- NOW WE WILL SEND UP THE WAR CRY!”

If Kor challenged his father now, they would rip him to pieces without a second thought. He had to think fast- for his own sake as much as that of Josian and Aurora. He didn’t look at them, didn’t let himself see Nera’s body, hear Josian’s screams, or see the hatred in Aurora’s eyes. To save them he would do whatever it took, “Executing those with the Dark One’s power is far too merciful!” he shouted, “I say we set them loose into the wild, branded so all might know their crimes! They will die alone and in pain, lost to the snow! If they die here, their abominable blood will curse our land- and why should we suffer further?!”

The mob, terrified by the idea that they would be cursed by some demonic omen, overlooked the mercy in Kor’s words. If they hadn’t, he would be dead in an instant. Seren, however, wasn’t so easily fooled, “I say we torture them ourselves and take pleasure in their screams of pain!”

“Are you afraid, father, of two young children?” all cheers ceased at once. Kor was challenging his father with his words.

Seren glared at his son. Several villagers shrunk back from the fury lining his very being, “You would call me a coward, _boy_ , when you want to set them free?”

“I want their deaths to be the end of it,” Kor spat. “Killing them here would attract _more_ demons, _more_ evil- would you see this village drown in its own blood because of your _cowardice_?!”

Even the villagers nearest Kor shrunk back at the withering look Seren cast to his son. The whole world went still as he stared him down, and the boy fully expected to burst into flame under the force of the glare. When Seren smiled- a sick, evil smile that spoke of torment and pain- he knew that he’d both won and lost. Josian and Aurora would go free, there was no doubt of that in Kor’s mind, but something far, far worse than death awaited him.

“Very well,” Seren smiled, “since you are so concerned with how they are disposed of, _you_ can be the one to mark them.”

“Mark them?” Seren came to his son and pulled Kor towards Nera’s body. The men holding both children dragged them forward as well. There was so much grief and rage in both of their eyes- and yet Aurora shifted just slightly enough for him to see the cord holding the stone he’d given her. For a second, before the hatred wiped it away, there was acceptance in her eyes- acceptance for whatever he was about to do.

“Yes, mark them.” Seren nodded to the villager behind Josian and he shoved his head forward. A knife was passed to the burly man, and he sliced through the furs and fabrics of the boy’s clothing. Aurora shouted in rage as the fabric was flung aside and her brother’s naked back was exposed. Seren handed his own blade- still coated in Nera’s blood- to Kor with a smile, “They are half-breeds, so take half of their flesh.”

Kor’s knees went weak, “You want me to-“

“Skin them,” his father smiled, “yes. And I suggest you hurry, until the boy is done the girl will entertain as many as she can.” He looked over at the villagers holding Aurora and nodded. She screamed as another knife was passed and dragged through her furs- but it didn’t stop when her back was exposed- the knife sliced through _everything_.

Kor tried to launch himself at the men as Aurora’s clothing was thrown aside and she vanished, screaming, into a growing mob. He couldn’t scream to match her cries, he couldn’t move to protect her as the men descended. His body was a prison and he was trapped inside it.

 _Do it_. Kor’s eyes locked onto Josian’s and he heard his friend’s voice inside his head, _HURRY! THEY WILL KILL YOU BEFORE YOU CAN GET TO HER. I’M HOLDING HER MIND- SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO HER! CUT ME NOW!!_

It was taking everything in Josian to keep Aurora trapped in the dark, but he still managed to force the blade that spilled his mother’s blood down into his own flesh and blocked Kor's own horror- leaving him with only the command to work quickly.

Josian’s gifts weren’t strong enough to withstand the agony of being flayed alive.

Within moments he lost his grip on Aurora’s mind and she woke to the horrors of the mob.

 

* * *

 

 

At some point he passed out, woke up, and passed out again. Aurora’s screaming deafened him as he tried to pin her mind down over and over. When she fell silent, he felt something break. Something she would never recover from.

Josian knew they were being dragged through the snow and ice out past the edge of the village, but he was in so much agony he could hardly feel the cold. They might as well have been dragging him across the sand. He faded in and out, the hint of divine blood in his veins pulling him back to the surface whenever mercy pushed him down. It was another kind of torture.

They were dumped on their raw and mangled backs in the snow. Josian felt someone stand nearby, then felt a stream of something hot and wet splash over his head- piss, “If you ever come back, and you’ll live long enough to see your sister frigged by every hunting dog in the village.”

Seren’s voice dragged Josian up from the void once more. Shouting through the blinding agony, he managed to pull his head up just far enough to meet Seren’s eyes- all he needed for his power to work. He wrapped his power around the chieftain and drove a black spike of madness in so deep and so fast the man stumbled back into the men who’d accompanied him.

If he’d killed him- if he’d held on seconds longer and shredded Seren’s mind from his body- they would have survived.

Insanity and bloodlust wouldn’t have claimed Aurora’s soul.

Demons crafted from poisoned divinity would never have walked the earth.

Josian wouldn’t have stood before his only kin and plunged a dagger into her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

Six Years Later

 

“Come on slowpoke, or we won’t make the village by sundown!”

Josian grumbled in response and picked up his pace as best he could. Snow rose to his knees and he had to half-jump to make any progress in it. Aurora was a useless, sweating mess in the heat of summer. In the frigid cold of winter, the tables were turned against Josian. She moved lightly across the snow with an energy and grace he just couldn’t find.

It was two weeks since they’d been flushed out of what _should_ have been their winter home. Their notoriety spread ahead of them always, and even though Josian had been _so_ careful, a village maid watching him chop wood at the edge of town had seen his sweat-soaked back. Or, more importantly, she’d seen a hint of the grotesque, warped skin beneath it that would mark him for life.

By nightfall Josian and Aurora could look back to the gap between mountains and see the soft glow of their makeshift hut in flames.

“Less brooding, more walking.” Aurora called from atop a large stone ahead of him, “I can see rooftops!”

“How much further?” He called up to her on the crest of the hill.

Aurora held up her hand at eye level- an absurdly accurate trick she’d developed to measure distances, one Josian couldn’t _begin_ to decipher, “Half a mile to the gate! You should be going _twice_ as fast as you are!” He shot her a dirty look, “Don’t grumble, we can cut through the forest’s edge, my people say it’s safe this time of day.”

Again, Josian grumbled as he adjusted his heavy pack. He pressed on through the deep snow, pushing his muscles to their limit, and kept a weary eye on the setting sun. Once it touched the mountain on the far horizon, it would be too late for them to expect any kind of shelter within the village walls.

Still, he trusted his sister and whatever spirits she’d asked for guidance. The souls of the dead were her realm of expertise, and if they said the trek would be easier, he had faith that it would be. Still, Josian kept his own extra sense stretched to the limit, listening for the minds of any malevolent creatures around or ahead of them.

“Next time, maybe mention the forest _starts_ at the bottom of the hill.” Josian elbowed Aurora lightly as she smiled. Little brat. He sighed once more- a long, deep sigh- and felt the tension ease from around his chest. There was no need to watch the sun so cautiously anymore. They would make it, if only by the skin of their teeth.

Aurora stayed by Josian’s side as they descended the hill and entered the forest. Under normal circumstances he would tease her for practically latching on to his arm. Sometimes, as they fled whatever temporary home they’d found, she’d see something in her spirits or get it into her head that they were being followed by some powerful, terrible creature that she would wrap her arms around one of his and shiver with fear.

Under normal circumstances it was nothing but the fears of someone lost, hungry, and with dwindling hope. In this case it was something bigger and darker than a boogeyman at night: It was the shadow of what happened the day their mother died. Josian never once complained about his scars. He never once showed pain as the nerves would suddenly burn and he could _feel_ Kor cutting at his flesh. He hid it all, because compared to Aurora, he’d survived _nothing_. And so, as the walls of the village peeked through the trees ahead, he didn’t tease her for grabbing his arm as though he could shield her from that lingering shadow cast by the men of their own village.

“We don’t have to go inside,” he murmured as men fell into step around them- hunters returning for the night with their kills in hand. A steady stream of herdsman and even a few peddlers converged with their path- everyone headed to the village as the first bells warned of the gates closure, “We’ll be just as cold out here as in there.”

“You’re lying and you know it.” Aurora’s face is drawn and pale, but she is the one who forced Josian forward until they reach the walls and pass beneath them.

“I thought _I_ was supposed to be the soul-reader?” He tried to joke as the bells tolled again and the gate began to slide closed. He didn’t need his powers to see it was as if Aurora was being sealed inside her own tomb, “Hey-“ he shrugged his arm out of her grip and took her face in both hands, “don’t worry. Lowlanders aren’t as superstitious as our people. Even if it’s only for the night, we’ll be safe here. I will keep you safe.” _This time_. He thought the words, but didn’t speak them. Aurora nodded and let Josian take her hand and pull her along through the village streets.

It was larger than anything they’d ever seen. It was five times the size of the village they’d grown up in, double the size of the largest they’d been chased out of, and the entire thing was surrounded by a thick wooden wall topped with warriors brandishing bows and throwing axes. More warriors in standard leathers mingled with the crowd, helping direct people or simply keeping the peace.

Josian led Aurora down a blind alley, vanishing from the throng of farmers and merchants milling about. Poor travelers would be directed to the village temple for shelter, and in a walled city- with the gate barred- he wasn’t risking _anything_.

He barely remembered his father, but even so- Ea was a God of the southern lands, far away from the snow-capped mountain tribes where he’d fallen in love with their mother. These lands had never even _heard_ of the god- so when Seren branded him a demon and he could not muster the power to make any kind of show of force, his image was tarnished. Wanderers were few and far between, but if any had brought the tale of the Demon Ea and his half-monster whelps down from the mountains, it would likely be a priest.

In short- Josian and Aurora would be staying as far away from the temple as possible.

They walked quickly, and Josian concentrated on turning away any eye that fell too keenly upon them. Aurora matched his stride- until they passed a small courtyard between two large structures and she saw a small mudbrick hut resting against the wooden wall. The thatch on the roof was weighed down by nets lined in sharp animal teeth- braid after braid of wolf fangs. A fire burned inside, and the smoke curled up through a hole in the roof, beckoning her.

She felt a sliver of something inside- something dark that had haunted their steps for years, “Not here,” Aurora whispered as Josian stopped to inspect  a warm stone wall that no doubt marked the edge of a blacksmith’s forge or tannery, “there is something evil in there.” She nodded to the hut.

Josian didn’t question his little sister. He was exhausted, past the point of arguing. He merely touched a hand as close to the stone as he could, absorbing as much heat as possible in the short time it took Aurora to overtake him and lead their path away from the hut that looked too much like the ones from their village, and whatever dark being lurked inside.

A few alleys down from the hut was a small alcove where the wall jutted out as though connecting to a forgotten building. Josian and Aurora set their packs on the ground in the corner and removed from them twin plates of wood barely bigger than their own hands. They spent the next half hour scraping back the snow and ice to clear a space to sleep. Their scant supplies of late included a single dented pot, two clay cups, a few unwrapped strips of tough, dried meat, Josian’s axe, a hunting knife, some rope, a few pouches of healing herbs, and no blankets whatsoever.

Aurora removed the herbs from her own pack and shoved her legs inside. The bag came up to her knees, but at least _some_ warmth was better than none. They huddled against the side of the building, and Josian’s stomach twisted painfully as she shivered. He was supposed to take care of his baby sister- protect her from everything. Ever since they’d been expelled from their village six years before they had never found a home that lasted more than two seasons. It was a rare week that they had food every day, and every winter he lived with the sick pool of dread in his stomach that this would be the last one. Now as he tried to use his own numb body to shield her from the soft wind, he was reminded just how _painfully_ thin she was beneath those hides- more bone than anything.

“Just survive tomorrow.” He whispered to himself as much as to her.

“And then survive one day more.” She finished it for him. The saying was what they’d told themselves when they woke in the bloodstained snow with his torn leathers and the ruins of her clothing around them. That, more than even their divine blood, helped them survive.

The night was colder than either had anticipated. A thin layer of frost covered Josian and Aurora as they drifted closer and closer to hypothermia. Aurora slid away from her brother in her sleep and curled into a tight ball on the ground.

Both were too far gone to notice when, in the middle of the night, a shadowy figure slid out from that strange hut and made straight for the siblings.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 

Aurora woke before dawn, stiff but warm. At first, she didn't notice the heat. It wasn’t until she yawned and saw her breath rising in front of her that she remembered just how cold she _should_ be. Aurora sat up quickly and found herself weighed down by something large and soft. She stared at the large wolf skin that covered her fur-side down. To her left, Josian was sleeping comfortably under one of his own.

They were of the finest quality and so large that Aurora felt a twinge of fear- they must have been might indeed in life- more monster than beast. They were thick, sturdy, and could very well mean the difference between life and death in the wilds of the lowlands- though another look at the sheer size made Aurora’s stomach churn.

Aurora saw her pack laid out in the corner where her head had been, as though whoever left the furs moved it to protect her head from the cold ground. Peeking out from the very edge was something thin and black- a strip of leather? She pulled the cord and her heart caught in her throat. A brown stone- slotted like the eye of a beast- on a leather cord.

Without waking Josian, Aurora jumped to her feet and quickly left her brother’s side. The sun had not yet risen, but she knew what she was looking for well enough. It took minutes to retrace their path to the strange hut covered in animal fangs. The same dark presence called to her divine blood as it always had, but she ignored it, forced herself to push past it, and so she stood tall as she walked up to the door.

There was only one person who could be inside, and she hoped wildly that it was not some cruel trick of fate. The gesture of kindness was one thing- but if it wasn’t him… No, there was no chance of that in her mind. Not so long as she clutched the stone in her hand- a stone that had been cut away on the day she _would not_ remember.

She raised a hand to knock on the door’s edge, but before she could, someone pulled it open halfway. Inside was a man hunched and nearly overwhelmed by a hooded cloak that obscured his every feature, “What do you want?” the voice was gruff- and deeper than she remembered- but there was no doubting the truth of who stood before her.

 A tight band around her heart lifted immediately and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, “Kor, why don’t you let me in?”

“Aurora…” Kor opened the door only a little, his voice full of pain.

“Please?”

Only one eye was visible through the drawn hood. It closed and opened again slowly. He stepped back from the door as Aurora pushed it open. The inside of the hut was lined with furs- dozens of them.

He kept his face covered and turned his back to her, “What is it you want?”

“Kor, look at me.” He turned reluctantly and peered at her from that one eye.

She was more beautiful than he could remember- and more frail than he ever thought he’d see. Her long golden hair was braided back from her wind-burned face, and her hollow black eyes seemed to find a spark of life as she looked to him. Her skin held the same divine glow as Nera, though it was diminished to a dull luster by malnutrition. Every bone in her face and chest was perfectly outlined, and her furs were bound to her small frame with ropes.

“Let me see.” Aurora smiled reassuringly and stepped forward.

“You won’t like it.” He sighed and moved away from her. That eye flickered to the fire pit in the center of the hut and back again.

“I will recover.” Aurora reached up to Kor’s face and pulled back the hood of the cloak. He flinched at her touch, but did not move to stop her.

 All over his face there were lines burned into his flesh. Where the skin was not rotting and dark, it was bright red and swollen. His right eye was missing entirely- as was the eyelid. The marks on his skin were delicate, deliberate, but when his eye had been removed, it was done with a brutality that was on full display in the ugly scars. Tears fell down Auora’s cheeks as she held a hand over the markings that seemed to continue down into the cloak. He held out a hand for her to see- more lines. They covered his entire body.

“Seren?”

Kor nodded, “When they took you from the village, my punishment did not end. Josian, I suspect, was the reason he did all of this. He carved it into my skin to hide me from the demons, then he locked me in your hut with your mother’s body and came back week after week to trace over the burns…” Kor stared at the ground, unwilling to meet her eyes.

Aurora wiped the tears from her cheek, “Kor, I’m so sorry.”

“I escaped.” Kor opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to find a way to explain, “I wondered how I could do that. How could I skin two people I cared so much about? My brother, and the woman I wanted to bind my soul to forever…” He looked down at his own trembling hand, then at the furs spread across the floor of the hut, “The hunters bring me their catch and I strip their flesh away and it’s the only time my mind is quiet.” He looked back to Aurora with such raw agony on his face her heart skips a beat, “It’s the only time I don’t have to hear you screaming, or watch Nera die with my father’s knife in her neck. It’s the only time I can be empty… I think Josian gave me that, without even meaning to, so that I could do what I had to in order to get you both out of that village alive.”

Kor turned away before Aurora could reach out to cup his cheek in her hand. He looked back to the fireplace and slowly squared his shoulders, “Aurora, I need you to leave with Josian. Today.”

“What? Kor-“

“Get out.”

“Kor, no. I know how you feel- I know how the memories burn you from the inside out, but maybe we can-“

“Are you deaf?! I said GET OUT!” Kor rounded on her. With only one eye- and a face filled with burning scars, it made her step back.

“Tell me why.” Her voice trembled, but she ignored the panic that flooded her chest.

“Because I was locked in a hut with a rotting corpse for two years. Because my skin was ripped apart again and again. I can’t look at you without remembering that.”

“Then why did you come to us last night?” She snapped. Hot tears filled her eyes.

Kor looked down at his hands, “I’m not blind. Neither of you were going to survive. I don’t want to see you again, but I could _never_ see you suffer.” He stepped around her and opened the door, “Please go.”

Aurora wiped her eyes and nodded. She wouldn’t argue with him, she was too tired, “Thank you Kor. If it gives you peace,” she stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips to his. She could feel the tremor in them he’d barely managed to suppress, “If it gives you peace, Josian and I both agree that it was _Seren_ , and Seren alone who hurt us that day. Never _once_ would we have laid the blame at your feet.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded to him, pulled the brown stone over her neck, and stepped back out into the early dawn.

“You did what is right.” Kor did not turn to acknowledge the man by the fireplace. He pulled his cloak tighter around his body and wept openly into the fabric as he slid down the door. The burned skin folded painfully as he sat against the wood, and the infection burning in them sent shocks of agony through the flesh, but nothing was worse than the ache in his heart. With every step Aurora took away from that hut, the pain only grew.

“Can you swear to me she will be alright?” he choked at long last.

“I cannot promise that. The future is masked, even to a god.” The man stepped around the fire and a golden hand rested gently on Kor’s shoulder. He looked up to the transparent vision of Aurora’s father.

“You said that if Aurora and I were together the world would bleed. You said that death would cease and monsters would walk all lands. If you cannot see the future, how are you so sure that will come to pass? The only reason I sent her away is because-“

“Calm yourself,” Ea’s voice was gentle and patient, “there are some things a god can see, just as you saw this moment when you were but a child. I do not know _why_ you and Aurora are such a threat to this world, I only know that you are. Sending her away may save her life, and many more.”

Kor calmed slightly and closed his eyes, “You promised I would die soon.”

Ea nodded, “You won’t live out the night. Apollo is giving you strength until you are ready to sleep. I have asked him not to heal you, as you requested.”

“Why couldn’t I have just been with her today?”

The god sighed, “Any amount of time with her will bring the destruction of this world. Even letting her in the door was a risk.”

“I don’t understand _why_ though.”

Ea was fading fast, he was barely more than a mist before Kor, “I will explain once you pass through the gates of my realm. I do not have enough strength for it now. There is much, much more I need to do.” With that the god vanished, leaving Kor alone to face his own fate.

 _At least_ , he thought, _I will be with her in the afterlife._

When he first appeared to Kor the night before, as Josian and Aurora slipped past the hut in search of shelter, Ea told him that the gods meant for Kor to be hers and hers alone. She would live a lonely life, but whatever doom the gods thought they saw in the coupling did not extend to the realm of the dead.

 _I will wait for you there_ , Kor crawled towards the far side of the small hut and curled up on the bed he’d made to die in, _please, dear Aurora, keep me waiting for a long, long time._

 

* * *

 

“Why are you so angry?” Josian panted, struggling to keep up with a furious Aurora. The two had left town as soon as the gates opened, each wearing their new fur blankets wrapped around them.

“It’s nothing.” Aurora slowed her pace so that her brother was able to keep up.

“Liar,” he waited for her to say something. “Will you at least tell me where the furs came from?”

“I don’t know.”

“And so I say again- liar.” She didn’t reply and he stuck his tongue out at the back of her head.

“I saw that.”

“No you didn’t.”

Aurora pointed to something he couldn’t see just off to their left, “No, but _he_ saw it.”

Josian stuck his tongue out next in the general direction she’d pointed- a message of his own for the tattle-tail spirit.

“Calm down, he’s always like that.” Aurora waved off the ire of the spirit.

“Can I at least ask where we’re going? We didn’t get a chance to ask anyone where anything _is_.”

“What direction do you want?” Aurora stopped abruptly and looked around. There were trees to the east, fields to the west, and mountains behind them to the north- _that_ direction was out of the question entirely. They’d spent long enough finding a way _out_.

“Walk towards sundown?” Josian looked across the fields, “It’s more exposed, but anything could be hiding in those woods.” He touched a finger to the soft pelt wrapped around him. It was more likely to have come from the woods than the plains.

Aurora sighed, “Fine with me.”

 

* * *

 

 

That night, they found food for the first time in nearly four days. Josian’s feet were dragging and he had developed a hard cough when Aurora had spotted a deer carcass lying on the ground several hundred feet ahead. It looked as though it had died within the last day or so, and a large gash through it’s side told her it had not died of any poisons or illness. It was safe to eat.

She pulled a knife from Josian’s pack and skinned the deer. The meat would be tough and tasteless, but at least it was food. She collected wood from a small, scrappy tree and built a fire while Josian was under forced bedrest. His cough echoed back to them from the hills, disjointed and delayed. It sounded as though there were dozens of Josian’s out there, lost and sick in the cold.

When the food was ready, Aurora fed Josian as much of the meat as she could. He was tired and feverish, so he didn’t notice when she took only a bowl of broth for herself. Whatever killed the deer had eaten most of the meat, so Aurora was forced to admit there would not be enough to take with them when it was time to move.

This was likely their last meal for a while yet. Aurora sighed and stared into the distance, praying for some luck on the horizon.

Not that the gods ever listened.

 

* * *

 

 

Josian yawned and rolled over. He let out a yelp as he slid off the furs and onto an ice-coated snowdrift. Aurora sat up immediately- or tried to. It had been two months since they’d awoken in the village with new skins. Since that day they had seen no other people and every second was a struggle to survive. A struggle Aurora wouldn’t be able to make for much longer.

Since the scant meal she had prepared for the sick Josian, they had eaten less than twenty times. The food was thin and never enough to fill their stomachs, but at least it was food. Aurora had tricked Josian into eating more and more- but now it was she who was too weak to continue.

“I’m sorry if I woke you, I fell off my blanket.” Josian said quickly.

“That’s alright, I’m already up.” Aurora managed to push herself into a seated position and smiled at her brother.

“Maybe we should rest here for the day, I’m a little tired,” he lied. Aurora’s skin sagged over her gaunt frame. Her hair had been cut closer to her head for the first time as its weight strained her thin neck. Her onyx-bright eyes had dulled to a tarnished, chalky black. She looked like a living corpse.

“If we lose a day, you might not find any food before you get too weak. Why don’t you go, I’ll follow tomorrow.” No matter her condition, she would not let Josian stop moving.

“Nuh-uh. I’m your brother, it’s my job to watch over you. I’m not leaving you alone here.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen; there isn’t anything for miles that could harm me, just the cold and that won’t change.” She waved her arm to emphasize the endless expanse of ice around them.

“Not. Happening.”

“One of us might as well survive this winter,” she snapped.

Josian shook his head, “ _Both_ of us will.” He could see the surrender in her, and it terrified him. When she opened her mouth to argue, he cut her off, “Even a god could not make me leave you out here.”

Aurora looked to the spirits that pooled around her. Their eyes showed only concern. As she weakened, her powers grew. One looked to her with shining eyes and nodded, “Josian, I’m going to die today. There’s nothing you can do about that. It doesn’t matter if you leave me here, stay, or take me with you.”

“I’m not abandoning you!” he shouted, “And I don’t want to hear any more about it!”

She sighed angrily, “Fine, but I’m not letting you lose whatever chance _you_ have of finding food.” She pulled herself to her feet with great effort, “Let’s go.”

“Aurora-“

“Save your breath, either we go or you go, no matter what, I won’t let you stay here. Now, if you _insist_ on making my death as drawn out and _agonizing_ as possible, help me with my pack.”

Two spirits rose from the ground behind her. They could not help the small girl walk, but neither could they resist trying. Some impulse left behind from when they too were lost on the plains.

Aurora did not notice them as she tugged at the straps of her pack, unable to lift the heavy burden. Josian reached forward and picked it up, tying it to his own, “I’ll carry this for you, at least.”

“Thanks.”

He followed behind her all day, ready to jump forward whenever she stumbled. The sun was barely touching the empty, snow-filled horizon when he demanded they stop for the night. Aurora’s skin was pale blue and when he touched her arm she was as cold as the ice around him. He could _feel_ her power snapping out violently around them, unable to find something to latch on to as its master faded away.

“Aurora, here,” Josian took off his wolf skin and laid it on the ground, fur side up.

“No, you need that.” She protested weakly.

 He easily lifted her and laid her down on top of his blanket. He unwrapped hers from her pale form and laid it out to cover her fully, “You need them more.” Part of him was glad Aurora’s falling strength made it too difficult for her to think straight long enough to protest. Most of him wanted to die, if only to give her one more day. “Don’t leave me out here, please,” he whispered as her eyes slid shut.

She wanted to reassure him, but she couldn’t find the strength. The last thing she felt was her power latching on to something- to that massive, terrifying spirit that had been haunting their steps for months. She opened her mouth to warn Josian, but that darkness overtook her as her mind began to pull the creature towards them.

Josian position himself next to his sister and focused on ignoring the biting cold across his legs and feet. As he willed his limbs numb, he felt a change in the air. The low humming of Aurora’s mind grew even more sporadic and then a second, louder sound filled his ears. Josian turned quickly and saw a figure cloaked in darkness kneeling by his sister, one brown-gold hand touching her forehead.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he shouted. His legs were too weak from the cold, and when he tried to jump up, he collapsed in the snow.

The hooded stranger was beside him in a second and helped him to sit up- it even dusted the snow from him, “Don’t overexert yourself. You need your strength for what’s about to happen.”

“Are you the creature that’s been haunting her? What are you? What do you want with us?” Josian pulled away from the stranger. There was something about that voice- an echo of a memory long lost.

“I have been following you for some time, yes.” The _thing_ pulled its hood back to reveal gleaming golden hair and pure white eyes- well, one of them was white. A shock of midnight-brown ran along one side of his face, turning his right eye black and his skin a deep, rich golden-brown, “You know who I am, and my purpose is easy enough to guess.”

“Father?” Josian whispered as his eyes filled with tears.

Ea smiled and cupped his son’s face in his hand, just as he had when the boy was a child, “Seren did not know that making me a demon in the mountains was a _favor_. Gods can draw power even from those who curse their names.”

“So you’ve returned?” Josian’s voice was small and full of hope- the voice of a child once more.

“Not that much power. My brothers and sisters are lending me their strength so that I can save you. Both of you.” Ea waved his hand and a massive oak tree appeared beside their little camp.

 Its smallest branches were larger than the greatest trees Josian had ever seen. Even in the gathering darkness it glowed with an unearthly light- something more primordial and ancient than even the gods on high. The rich, deep green of the leaves and the dark, earthly brown of the bark was healthy and pure. It was power incarnate, made up of the same cloth as the sky and stars, the sun and moon, and everything in between.

Ea walked to the oak tree. He bowed once and touched his forehead to the trunk before removing four leaves from the lowest of the branches. Where they vanished, new ones grew instantly. Josian noticed that among the leaves were small, delicate flowers as well.

“Two for you, two for her.” Ea handed the leaves to Josian. As soon as they touched his hand he felt an explosion of warmth. “Boil mugs of water and place these inside. It is the last gift I will be able to give you- a gift stolen from the heavens.” With a wave of his hand a roaring fire sprung up beside Aurora’s prone form. Her head curled towards it, and Ea smiled sadly. He left Josian, and went to her side. He placed a hand atop her head and slowly rubbed back along her skull, “I am destined to never speak to my own daughter, it would seem.” When his hand left her, her golden hair was back- gleaming with a life and health Josian hadn’t seen since early fall.

“Father- I’m sorry.” Josian was looking down at the leaves in his hand, “You told me once that if you ever left, I was to take care of Aurora and- and our mother. I’m sorry…”

Ea returned to his side and wrapped his arms around his son, “You have nothing to be sorry for. I was the one who should have taken Nera far from that village while I still could. I’ve been trying to reach you for so long, if only to tell you that. I’ve missed you, and I was the one who wasn’t there when you needed me most. Your mother and I wish you could join us in the afterlife, but we agree this cannot be all for you both.” He winked, “Succumbing to the snows of winter is not the fate for a god’s children. As much as it pains us both, your mother and I would rather be apart from our little wolves forever than to be with them tomorrow.” He leaned forward and kissed Josian on the forehead, “Take care of her, yes, but most importantly- do not forget to take care of yourself. Only one immortal may kill another- you two will never know the shadow of danger again.” He looked one last time to Aurora as he slid out of existence.

The tree vanished with him, leaving only Josian, Aurora, and a fire that burned with no fuel.

Josian stared at the leaves in his hand, trying to comprehend Ea’s words. The disappearance of Aurora’s low hum and the complete silence that came in its wake threw him into action. He pocketed the leaves, dove for his pack, fell, and clawed himself through the snow towards it. From the well-worn cloth he pulled a small metal pot which he packed with snow. Once it was full, he dragged himself through the cold to the fire beside Aurora.

Its heat felt amazing on his icy skin and pinpricks of pain in his legs told him feeling and mobility would soon return. Josian shoved the pot as close to the flames as he could stand, and waited impatiently for the snow to melt. Once it did he was ready with more snow to pack in. Once the water had reached the brim of the pot, he allowed it to sit and warm.

After several terrifying minutes Josian slipped a finger into the water and was lightly scolded. It had to be enough. He dashed back to his pack and removed the two small mugs. He sat down at Aurora’s head and pulled her into his lap to rest against his chest, the only way to keep her upright. He barely managed to reach the pot, and burned himself pulling it over and filling the mugs. From his pocket he removed the leaves. As he pushed each into the cup there was a small explosion of light that left the water a dark, smoldering green.

Ignoring his cup, he tipped Aurora’s head back on his shoulder, pulled her chin down, and slowly poured the liquid down her throat. Aurora coughed once, the first sign of life she’d shown, but Josian didn’t stop. He felt her throat move as she swallowed, and so long as that motion continued he didn’t dare stop- not until she’d swallowed every last drop.

Color began to return to her pale skin, and Josian lifted his own mug next. He stared at the forest-green liquid for a long time before he began to drink. He’d downed half the mug before the _taste_ of it hit him- it was too earthy, too much like mud and the spice of- well, _leaves_. He gagged and choked- nearly spit out what he’d already taken. He grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and used it to wash the flavor from his mouth before he was sick.

Aurora moved slightly and Josian once again heard the low hum of her mind. She was still weak, but the liquid was giving her strength. What he had was enough- she was closer to the gates of Death than he was, surely she needed more assistance coming back. He opened her mouth once again and poured the rest of his mug down her throat.

She swallowed this quicker and a low murmur came from her cracked lips, “Tastes terrible.”

Josian laughed slightly. He put a hand on her forehead and felt the skin warming beneath his hand. He slid back from her and resettled his sister under her blankets as fatigue made his head swim. He meant only to lie down for a moment, just long enough to shake the edge of sleep from his vision, but as Aurora’s hum grew louder, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

“Josian!” The excited shout made him jerk awake. He had fallen asleep in a snowbank- but there was only dirt beneath him now. He looked around wildly for Aurora and froze when his eyes found her.

She was standing ten feet away, her hair flowing freely and her skin glowing with that divine light that had circled the tree. Her eyes were a gleaming, brilliant black again again- perhaps even brighter than they’d ever been! Josian’s ears were flooded with the loud, musical sound of her mind- it roared around him so much that he had to quickly quiet down his own powers or risk being deafened- even he hadn’t realized how quiet it had become or how hard he’d been straining to hear it- to hear if she was _alive_.

He couldn’t hide his smile. Aurora was no longer thin and frail- new muscle filled in her gaunt features, her eyes were no longer sunken and bruised in their sockets, and when she smiled it was not with cracked, rotten teeth but ones as shining and straight as their father’s. She looked happy, healthy, and most importantly, _alive_.

“What?” He couldn’t find words as he stared dumbly at his laughing sister. Eventually he thought to look down at his own skin and saw the same changes in Aurora reflected there. The ground around him was dry and warm, in defiance of the snow. Fresh blades of green grass were poking up, as though being _near_ him brought them life. Josian looked around and saw another rectangle of dry earth surrounded by small circles of green grass, all left by Aurora as she danced around the camp. The magic flared far brighter in her than in him- it took barely a touch of her foot against the snow for it to erupt in soft cushions of green.

“Josian, what happened last night?” She dropped to her knees beside him, breathless with joy.

He just shook his head and looked at the world around them- just as merciless and cold as it had always been. He didn’t feel hungry, he didn’t feel cold, he didn’t feel weak or sad, hopeless or lost. He was strong, he was filled with life itself, and all he could do was laugh at the sky and marvel in the golden embrace of it all, “A miracle.”

He would come to call it something very different so, so many ages later when he stood with a golden dagger in Aurora’s warpath and slid it into her heart.

On that black day, when he slaughtered his sister to save the world from her wrath, he would look back on Ea’s gift and see it for what it was-

A curse.

 


End file.
